FORT WORTH, Texas – For the first time in 16 years, PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) elite Unleash The Beast will return to Fort Worth, Texas, welcoming fans into Dickies Arena Aug. 29-30 for the PBR WinStar World Casino and Resort Invitational.
The PBR WinStar World Casino and Resort Invitational held at Dickies Arena will abide by the health standards put in place for rodeo and equestrian events, as identified in the Open Texas guidelines. PBR is following all local and state health protocols, and along with Dickies Arena is instituting a series of fan safety protocols. Those protocols for the event include:
- All fans as well as staff and competitors will be required to wear face masks inside Dickies Arena.
- All Dickies Arena staff, in addition to PBR staff, riders and stock contractors will be subject to coronavirus screening. In addition to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-informed screening, all PBR personnel will undergo medical testing for COVID-19.
- PBR will only sell up to 50% of arena capacity to separate fans.
- All fans will be in POD seating, which increases distancing and minimizes fan crossover when entering and exiting their seats.
- There will be a focus on mobile ticketing and cashless transactions.
- Merchandise sales will be limited to best-selling items to reduce lines and encourage speedier transactions.
- Hand sanitizer stations will be placed throughout the venue to promote hand hygiene.
- Increased sanitization of high-contact areas including bathrooms, concourses, concession stands, elevators, dining areas, and the Dickies Arena Box Office.
- Pre-paid parking will be available through Ticketmaster in regularly sanitized lots.
Tickets for the two-day event go on sale July, August 20 at 10 a.m. and start at $15. They can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com.
Prior to mass-gathering restrictions implemented due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), PBR’s Unleash The Beast last competed in front of fans in Little Rock, Ark., at Simmons Bank Arena March 6-7. The sport then held closed events for its premier series in Duluth, Ga. at Infinite Energy Arena March 14-15, followed by three event weekends in Logan County, Okla., beginning April 25.
On July 10-12, PBR welcomed back fans for the first time in Sioux Falls, S.D. for the playoffs of a special team tournament created to keep the sport going during the pandemic, the groundbreaking PBR Monster Energy Team Challenge, as well as a Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event.
Historically, the PBR Unleash The Beast has stopped in Fort Worth eight times, most recently travelling to the city in 2004 when Mike Collins emerged victorious.
In the bull pen, the 2004 event also featured a dominant performance by Little Yellow Jacket who went on to win his third consecutive World Championship at year’s end. Besting Reuben Geleynse, Little Yellow Jacket was marked a monstrous 47 points, tying for the third-best score logged by one of the league’s dominant bovine athletes throughout the event.
Joining Collins as past Fort Worth premier series event winners are two PBR World Champions. The only Australian PBR World Champion in league history Troy Dunn (1998) won the Lone Star State event in 2000, while 1999 World Champion Cody Hart was victorious in 2003.
In addition to World Champions, three founding members of the PBR have also ridden to victory in Fort Worth: Gilbert Carrillo (1995), Cody Custer (2001) and Jim Sharp (2002).
Other past Fort Worth Unleash The Beast event winners include: Brian Herman (1997), Norman Curry (1999).
Despite the premier series’ more than 15-year absence from Fort Worth, the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area is no stranger to elite bull riding competition. In 2019 and 2020, AT&T Stadium in Arlington welcomed the PBR Global Cup, a one-of-a-kind team tournament uniting riders in national teams to compete for record purses and the title of Toughest Nation on Dirt. This past February, for the first time in Global Cup history, a nation defended home soil as Team USA Eagles rode to victory under the leadership of Coaches Justin McBride and J.W. Hart, and Captain Jess Lockwood.
This season, the PBR Unleash The Beast stop in Fort Worth is crucial in the championship race to the PBR World Finals in early November, awarding a gold buckle and million-dollar bonus to the world’s best bull rider. The riders competing in Fort Worth are anticipated to be led by current world No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme, along with Texas’ own Cooper Davis (Jasper), Cole Melancon (Paris)and Mason Taylor (Maypearl).
The bull riding action for the PBR WinStar World Casino and Resort Invitational begins with Round 1 at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, concluding with Round 2 and the championship round at 1:45 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 30. All 35 bull riders will get on one bull each in Round 1 and 2. Following Round 2 on Sunday afternoon, the riders’ individual two-round scores will be totaled with the Top 15 advancing to the championship round for one more out and a chance at the $30,000 event title.
About PBR (Professional Bull Riders):
PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 700 bull riders compete in more than 200 events annually across the televised PBR Unleash The Beast tour (UTB), which features the top 35 bull riders in the world; the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT); the PBR Touring Pro Division (TPD); and the PBR’s international circuits in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico. PBR’s digital assets include RidePass, which is home to Western sports. PBR is a subsidiary of IMG, a global leader in sports, fashion, events and media. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
About WinStar World Casino and Resort:
With more games than any other casino in the world, WinStar World Casino and Resort offers more than 8,500 electronic games, 100 tables games, 57 poker tables, a 3,500-seat Global Event Center and the nearly 1,400-room WinStar World Casino Hotel. Located just north of the Oklahoma/Texas border along Interstate 35, WinStar World Casino and Resort presents unrivaled gaming action 24 hours a day, seven days a week, world-class entertainers and a wide range of restaurants. For more information visit our website at WinStar.com
